One Indian Girl(65)

‘Sure,’ he said.

We sat down on the cold sand in absolute silence. He switched off the flashlight. The moonlight was just about enough for us to see each other’s faces. I poured myself a glass of champagne. He looked at me, shook his head in disbelief and grinned. I poured him a glass as well. He took a sip. I turned my head back to look up at the sky.

The night sky had so many stars, it felt like someone had sprayed it with silver paint.

‘Wow, look at the gazillion stars above,’ I said.

He turned his gaze up to the sky as well.

‘Unlike Hong Kong there is no pollution here, and no backlight from the city.’

‘Yeah, I have never seen stars in Hong Kong,’ I said.

‘Do you recognize constellations?’ Neel said.

I shook my head. He pointed at the sky with his index finger.

‘See, that’s Ursa Major, or the Great Bear,’ he said, outlining the group of seven stars.

I kept looking at his finger. He kept talking.

‘That’s Ursa Minor, Little Bear. That’s the North Star,’ Neel said.

‘How do you know all this?’ I said.

‘Used to have a telescope once. Can you imagine, these stars are all navigators had when they sailed centuries ago. No GPS.’

‘Unbelievable,’ I said.

My neck hurt from keeping my head tilted for so long. I lay down on the sand instead. This way my eyes could face the sky above me and I could be comfortable.

‘Easier to see this way,’ I said. Neel looked at me once and lay down as well. Our heads were one foot apart.

‘What’s your sun sign?’ he said, staring at the sky above.

‘My birthday was just a few days back,’ I said.

‘Gemini then. There, see, those are the Gemini twins,’ he said.

‘What’s yours?’

‘Taurus. See, over there,’ he said. He pointed to a group of stars that outlined a bull.

‘Wow,’ I said.

We became quiet and enjoyed the silence and isolation. I felt calm because of the surroundings. Maybe the champagne also had something to do with it. I could hear him breathing. I stretched my legs. A wave touched my foot. I moved in reflex. As I did that, my ankle brushed against Neel’s. He turned his head and looked at me.

‘I am sorry,’ I said.

‘It’s fine,’ he said, rather whispered. We looked at each other and smiled. I don’t know why, call it girl intuition or whatever, I felt like something was going to happen. I could have moved away. But I didn’t. Maybe because I wanted it to happen.

He leaned forward. He placed his lips on mine. They felt as warm and gentle as the water on my ankles. I closed my eyes. My hands moved halfway to stop him but lost the resolve to do so as the kiss felt amazing. He kissed me long and deep as dozens of waves broke and touched the soles of my feet. He lifted his arm to draw me closer. Neel Gupta, partner, two decades older and my boss’s boss, held me tight and kissed me. This was not supposed to feel good. But never had a kiss felt this good. I didn’t protest. Maybe I should have. But when something feels so right it is hard to do so. I placed my palm on his face. The face I had seen every day for so many months, but never touched. I felt connected to him. I felt like the entire island existed only for this one reason, our kiss.

A relatively stronger wave came and hit us higher, leaving us wet from the waist down.

He continued to kiss me, the intensity increasing with every passing second. His fingers lingered down the back of my neck. Goosebumps broke out all over my body. If he could kiss like this. . . His other hand went to my thigh and my heart started to thump louder.

Should I stop him? I wondered. I placed my hand on his wrist but offered no resistance. Another strong wave came up and wet my entire dress. His fingers stroked my thighs.

Am I really doing this? my rational mind asked me one last time in a meek voice while I moaned. Nobody cared about the rational mind tonight. My hand slid under his linen T-shirt, already wet due to the water. I touched his hard chest, and circled my index finger around his left nipple. He bit my lower lip in excitement.

We sat up. He removed his shirt, keeping his shorts on. He pulled up my dress and had me wriggle out of it. We lay down again, the cold sand under our backs. He kissed my navel, touching his tongue to it. My knees lifted a little. I grabbed his head with my hands.

‘Neel,’ I whispered. He didn’t hear me. His mouth and fingers continued to explore me. He traced my bra with a lazy finger. He took his time, to match the slow pace of the island. After a while, he lifted me a little. His hand went behind me and unhooked my bra in one snap. My breasts felt the cold breeze. He paused to look at them, whatever he could see in the moonlight.

He touched a nipple with his fingertip. Took a breast in his hand. I could feel myself melting all over. When my hand brushed over his shorts I knew he was as turned on as I was, if not more. His mouth was on my breasts.

I lifted my hips and he pulled down my underwear. Then we were both naked on the sandy beach. He leaned over me again and kissed my inner thighs. His tongue reached down there and kissed me intimately. I almost jumped up in excitement.

Like all his kisses, he kept this light and slow, till I began to tremble. His tongue began to gather pace. The pleasure became unbearable. I arched my back. Debu had gone down on me before. However, this was a completely new level of sensation and pleasure. If Debu was French fries, this was a gourmet six-course meal. If Debu was beer, this was champagne. If Debu was a boat, this was a luxury cruise. Stop comparing, and what’s with the weird analogies? I mentally scolded myself, and refocused on the moment. Neel continued to work magic with his tongue. I arched my back further and dug my fingers in his hair.